Method of forming an enclosure in a body of water

ABSTRACT

A method of forming an enclosure in a large body of water for the storage of oil and the like, using a base template seated on the marine floor and extending out of the water. A series of caissons or support posts are positioned within the template and driven into the marine floor to provide support for a top template attachable to the caissons and capable of moving up and down on them. Sheet pile cells are then secured at their upper portions to the top template with their bottom portions resting against the upper portion of the bottom template out of the water, so as to prevent any wave action from interfering with the construction of the enclosure. The enclosure is then lowered into the water; the sheet pile cells are unfastened from the top template and then driven into the marine floor. The top template, bottom template and caissons are then all removed from inside the enclosure.

United States Patent DeLong [451 Mar. 18, 1975 METHOD OF FORMING AN ENCLOSURE IN A BODY OF WATER Primary ExaminerJacob Shapiro Attorney, Agent, or FirmCushman, Darby & Cushman [57] ABSTRACT A method of forming an enclosure in a large body of water for the storage of oil and the like, using a base template seated on the marine floor and extending out of the water. A series of caissons or support posts are positioned within the template and driven into the marine floor to provide support for a top template attachable to the caissons and capable of moving up and down on them. Sheet pile cells are then secured at their upper portions to the top template with their bottom portions resting against the upper portion of the bottom template out of the water, so as to prevent any wave action from interfering with the construction of the enclosure. The enclosure is then lowered into the water; the sheet pile cells are unfastened from the top template'and then driven into the marine floor. The top template, bottom template and caissons are then all removed from inside the enclosure.

6 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures FATENTED 1 81975 SHEU l U? 4 FTENTEU f 3,871.181

SHEET 2 0F 4 METHOD OF FORMING AN ENCLOSURE IN A BODY OF WATER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to forming an enclosure at sea and more particularly to a method of setting sheet pile cells into the marine floor so as to form an enclosure for containment of a liquid other than water or to produce an enclosure from which the water may be removed to provide a working space on the marine floor.

2. Prior Art The use of storage tanks constructed of a plurality of metallic sheets which can be fastened together, commonly referred to as sheet pile cells, has been very valuable to the petroleum industry for many years. A major advantage of the use of such enclosures is that they can be positioned fairly close to an offshore drilling site so that the oil may be easily stored to await shipping, as it is removed from the ground.

One difficulty which always plagues the construction of such enclosures is the wave action on the sheet pile cells as they are being formed into an enclosure and driven into the marine floor. It has been the practice normally, in the past, to construct such enclosures cell by cell or sheet by sheet directly in the water by driving each individual cell into the marine floor before attaching the adjacent or next succeeding cell. Even with the use of templates or supports, the wave action causes considerable difficulty in the positioning and alignment of each of the individual cells prior to its being driven into the marine floor. Thus, the wave action directly affects the amount of time involved with setting such an enclosure in the marine floor and, thus, increases the expense and danger of doing so, to a substantial degree.

Many alternatives to the construction of an enclosure at sea have been proposed, such as the construction of the enclosure on land and then towing it by placing it on a barge or floating it on the water or in some other manner, to the site where it is to be positioned on the marine floor. There is, associated with such a method, the problem of securing it to the marine floor so as to be as effective as an enclosure constructed of sheet pile cells driven into the marine floor at the location.

Such enclosures are also utilized in the construction of supports for bridges, docks, etc.. In this connection, the enclosures must be water tight so that once they are properly positioned on the marine floor the water can be pumped out of them and workmen can construct whatever supports are needed on the marine floor to support the structure which they are building. Enclosures of this sort necessitate the use of very strong materials for the wall members in order to prevent the structure from buckling under the pressure created by the water surrounding the enclosure. Thus, many of the structures which are fabricated on land and then towed by barge or other means to the desired location would usually be inadequate for this purpose since the strength requirements, in most instances, would require an extremely heavy structure which would not be easily nor economically transported. Thus, it becomes necessary to construct the enclosure on the site and face the difficulties of the wave action interfering with the construction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention overcomes the above described difficulties and disadvantages of prior art methods of constructing an enclosure in a large body of water where substantial wave action is present by providing a method for constructing an enclosure at the desired location without having to cope with the wave action.

The method of construction comprises basically, the positioning of a bottom template member having a plurality of spaced caisson or support post guide positioning openings, at the desired location in a body of water where the enclosure is to be constructed, so that the template member rests on the marine floor; setting caissons in each ofthe plurality of openings; driving the lower end portions of the caissons into the marine floor so as to have a substantial portion of the caissons extending above the surface of the body of water, positioning lifting means in an operatively supported manner above the bottom template; positioning a top template member also having a plurality of spaced guide openings corresponding to those in the bottom template, on the caissons so that they can be slid up and down thereon; lifting the top template upwards on the caissons by means of the lifting means, an adequate height to permit a plurality of rigid sheet pile cells to be suspendably supportably secured at their upper portions to the top template while keeping the bottom portions out of contact with the surface of the body of water; attaching the cells to the top template to form a vertical walled enclosure; lowering the enclosure and the top template so that the bottom of the enclosure rests on the marine floor, by means of the lifting means lowering the top template; detaching the piles from the top template and removing the top template from the caissons; driving the lower portion of the sheet pile cells into the marine floor; removing the lifting means and the bottom template from the caissons; and finally removing the caissons themselves so as to provide an enclosure for whatever desired purpose.

It is also desirable to have the upper portion of the bottom template extending slightly above the water so that as the sheet pile cells are secured to the top template the bottom portions thereof may rest against the bottom template so as to maintain the proper form of the enclosure. As the enclosure is then lowered into the water its shape is maintained as a result of its contact with the template thus, it cannot be deformed by the wave action as it is lowered into the water.

By constructing an enclosure by the abovedescribed method the difficulties and danger normally associated with the construction of an enclosure at sea are removed since the wave action is no longer a variable which effects the construction or assembly of the enclosure. This advantage results in substantial labor savings as well as reducing the danger associated with such a construction made by the prior art method.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side plan view of a preferred embodiment of the bottom template utilized to practice the method of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side plan view of the bottom template shown in FIG. 1 with caissons positioned therein;

FIG. 3 is a side plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 along with jacking means positioned on each of the caissons;

FIG. 3a is a top plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 is a side plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 with a top template positioned on top of the jacking means;

FIG. 5 is a side plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 along with a plurality of sheet pile cells secured to the top template;

FIG. 5a is a top plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 6 is a side plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 with all of the sheet pile cells secured to the top template and the bottoms of the cells in contact with the marine floor;

FIG. 7 is a side plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 with the top template removed and with the sheet pile cells partially driven into the marine floor;

FIG. 8 is a side plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 with all of the sheet pile cells positioned in the marine floor and the bottom template lifted out of the enclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates the enclosure produced by the method of the present invention with all of the templates, caissons, and jacks removed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1, the bottom template member 10 is positioned on the marine floor 12 in the desired location, in such a manner that its upper portion extends above the high water line 14. The bottom template 10 is preferably constructed of tubular members so as to form a light and easily movable structure but one that is also sturdy. The various apparatus shown as an example of the type of equipment which can be utilized to practice the method of the present invention, will produce a cylindrical enclosure. It is to be understood, however, that any shape of enclosure having perpendicular side walls may also be easily constructed in accordance with the method of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, once the bottom template 10 is in position, the caissons 16 are placed in guide positioning openings in bottom template 10 which locate the caisson in the proper position relative to the bottom template. The caissons 16 are then driven into the marine floor 12 by means of any suitable pile driver 18, here shown as a portion of a crane or a derrick which can be positioned adjacent the construction site on a barge (not shown).

Referring to FIG. 3, once the caissons 16 are in place a lifting means 20 here shown as a plurality ofjacks one of each of which is associated with a caisson 16 and obtains its support for moving up and down from its association with the caisson. Such jacking means are well known in the industry for use in the particular manner associated with the method of the present invention and their internal construction will not be described in detail herein. They are, however, capable of being secured to the bottom template 10 so as to move it up and down relative to the caissons. It is to be understood, however, that other lifting means may be utilized to practice the method of the present invention but it is believed that the use of jacking members 20 provides substantial economy in labor and difficulty relative to the use of alternative means of lifting, associated with the various steps of the method of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, a top template member 22 having guide positioning openings which correspond to the position of the caissons as determined by the guide positioning openings in the base template member 10, is positioned on the caissons and supported by jacking members 20 for movement up and down relative to the caissons.

Referring to FIG. 5, the top template member is positioned an appropriate distance above the bottom template member such that will permit the fastening of a plurality of sheet pile cells 24 at their upper end portions to top template member 22 so that their bottom portion will rest against the top of bottom template 10 which extends above the high water line 14. Thus, the basic shape of the enclosure is established without any contact whatever with the water and thus the effect of wave action is eliminated by the present method. The top template member being positioned in place by means of jacking members 20.

Referring to FIG. 6, after the enclosure is formed by securing all of the plurality of sheet pile cells 24 to the top template member 22, the sheet pile cells are then lowered into the water by jacks 20 lowering top template member 22. The bottom of the enclosure being guided by contact with the periphery of bottom template member 10.

After the enclosure has been lowered and is resting on the marine floor 12 the top template member 22 is unfastened from the enclosure and removed from the caissons 16. Referring to FIG. 7, each of the plurality of sheet pile cells 24 is then driven into the marine floor 12 by means of an appropriate driver 26 which can be positioned adjacent the construction site on a barge (not shown).

Referring to FIG. 8, once the plurality of sheet pile cells 24 which form the enclosure are driven into the marine floor 12 to the appropriate depth, the bottom template 10 is then lifted out of the enclosure by means ofjack members 20 and then the jacking members 20 and bottom template 10 are removed from the caissons 16. The caissons 16 themselves are then removed, leaving the enclosure in its finally constructed form as shown in FIG. 9.

Although the forgoing description illustrates the use of the method of the present invention with a preferred embodiment of particular apparatus, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variations of the apparatus and the use of the method associated therewith are possible. One such variation for example would obviously be that the method may be used to set a plurality of sheet pile cells which do not form a complete enclosure but which would be utilized to provide a barrier against wave action. All such variations as would be obvious to those skilled in this art are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of forming an enclosure in a natural body of water having a marine floor, comprising the steps of:

positioning a bottom template member having a plurality of spaced caisson guide positioning openings, at an appropriate location in said body of water and resting on said marine floor;

setting caissons in each of said plurality of openings;

driving the lower end portions of each of said caissons into said marine floor so as to have a substantial portion of said caissons extending above the surface of said body of water;

positioning lifting means in an operatively supported manner above said bottom template;

positioning a top template member having a plurality of spaced guide openings corresponding to said guide openings in said bottom template, on said caissons so as to be slidably disposed thereon and supported by said lifting means;

lifting said top template upwards on said caissons by means of said lifting means, an adequate height to permit a plurality of rigid sheet pile cells to be suspendably supportably secured at their upper portions to said top template while keeping the bottom portions of said piles out of contact with the surface of said body of water;

attaching said sheet pile cells to said top template so as to form a vertical walled enclosure;

lowering said enclosure and said top template so that the bottom of said enclosure rests on said marine floor, by means of said lifting means lowering said top template;

detaching said sheet pile cells from said top template and removeing said top template from said caissons;

driving the lower portion of said sheet pile cells into said marine floor;

removing said lifting means and said bottom template from said caissons; and

removing said caissons.

2. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein said step 6 of positioning said bottom template includes the step of:

positioning said bottom template in water of appropriate depth such that a portion of the top of said bottom template extends above the normal high water surface level of said body of water so that said bottom of said enclosure can contact the outer periphery of said bottom template without contacting water when being secured to said top template.

3. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein said step of positioning said lifting means includes the attachment of a jacking member, as said lifting means, to each of said caissons in such a manner that will permit said jacking members to move either said top or bottom template up or down relative to said caissons.

4. A method as defined in claim 3 wherein said step of removing said lifting means and said bottom template includes lifting said bottom template out of said enclosure by means of said jacking members.

5. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein said step of forming said enclosure includes forming a substantially cylindrical enclosure with an open top and bottom, the bottom to be bounded by said marine floor.

6. A method as defined in claim 2, wherein said step oflowering said enclosure includes maintaining contact between the internal walls of said enclosure and the external surfaces of said bottom template so as to give the enclosure its final shape when positioned on said ma- 

1. A method of forming an enclosure in a natural body of water having a marine floor, comprising the steps of: positioning a bottom template member having a plurality of spaced caisson guide positioning openings, at an appropriate location in said body of water and resting on said marine floor; setting caissons in each of said plurality of openings; driving the lower end portions of each of said caissons into said marine floor so as to have a substantial portion of said caissons extending above the surface of said body of water; positioning lifting means in an operatively supported manner above said bottom template; positioning a top template member having a plurality of spaced guide openings corresponding to said guide openings in said bottom template, on said caissons so as to be slidably disposed thereon and supported by said lifting means; lifting said top template upwards on said caissons by means of said lifting means, an adequate height to permit a plurality of rigid sheet pile cells to be suspendably supportably secured at their upper portions to said top template while keeping the bottom portions of said piles out of contact with the surface of said body of water; attaching said sheet pile cells to said top template so as to form a vertical walled enclosure; lowering said enclosure and said top template so that the bottom of said enclosure rests on said marine floor, by means of said lifting means lowering said top template; detaching said sheet pile cells from said top template and removeing said top template from said caissons; driving the lower portion of said sheet pile cells into said marine floor; removing said lifting means and said bottom template from said caissons; and removing said caissons.
 2. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein saiD step of positioning said bottom template includes the step of: positioning said bottom template in water of appropriate depth such that a portion of the top of said bottom template extends above the normal high water surface level of said body of water so that said bottom of said enclosure can contact the outer periphery of said bottom template without contacting water when being secured to said top template.
 3. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein said step of positioning said lifting means includes the attachment of a jacking member, as said lifting means, to each of said caissons in such a manner that will permit said jacking members to move either said top or bottom template up or down relative to said caissons.
 4. A method as defined in claim 3 wherein said step of removing said lifting means and said bottom template includes lifting said bottom template out of said enclosure by means of said jacking members.
 5. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein said step of forming said enclosure includes forming a substantially cylindrical enclosure with an open top and bottom, the bottom to be bounded by said marine floor.
 6. A method as defined in claim 2, wherein said step of lowering said enclosure includes maintaining contact between the internal walls of said enclosure and the external surfaces of said bottom template so as to give the enclosure its final shape when positioned on said marine floor. 